On this week’s podcast, the actor Harry Lennix reads “In a Small Bag, She Packed All Our Hopes,” about a small act of kindness that exposes the author’s own selfishness and invigorates his life instinct.

The author, Tim McEown, is a writer, filmmaker and film critic. Follow him on Twitter.

Mr. Lennix stars in “The Blacklist” on NBC. You can find him on Twitter.